Jezebel

From Wilson Okereke, Afikpo

A pregnant mother of seven children, Mrs. Ijeoma Ugbana, has allegedly abducted three male children belonging to a widow, Mrs. Ngozi Oti, at Onicha Igboeze autonomous community, Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. Ugbana is cooling off in the correctional centre in the state, having been remanded by a court in Abakaliki, the capital of the state.

Seven-year-old Master Chiemerie Oti, a Primary 1 pupil of Onicha Central School, was lucky and was eventually recovered in Abia State on July 29, 2021. But not so for his two siblings: Master Sunday Oti, a 15-year-old Junior Secondary School III student of Onicha Community Secondary School, alongside his younger brother, two-year-old Master Wisdom Oti.

Chiemerie told our reporter that, on the fateful day, he was staying with his brothers at their rented apartment within Afor Enagu Marketsquare, while their mother, Mrs. Oti, was away when, suddenly, a strange fat man and another pregnant woman allegedly led by Mrs. Ugbana, entered their apartment. In a manner and circumstance suspected to be characterized with some magical power, the two persons, through the alleged help of Mrs. Ugbana, being the victims’ co-tenant, hurriedly took the three of them into a waiting vehicle and zoomed off.

“After Mrs. Ijeoma, popularly known as Mama Chiagozie, had told the man and the woman that my mother was mentally deranged, she equally directed them to go with us,” he said.

According to the small boy, the following morning, after they had found themselves in an unknown place, the fat man and his accomplice handed him and Wisdom over to another person and also took Sunday away.

He narrated that: “After the other man had gone out with Sunday, the people kept Wisdom and I in a house where I cannot remember, until another morning when they came back and took Wisdom away too.

“When I later asked about my younger brother, the people told me that the child had been taken back to my mother.”

Chiemerie further claimed that, on that day, upon the arrival of the suspected abductors, the manner in which they were accepted by Mrs. Ugbana at their Enagu Onicha residence clearly showed that all of them were partners in the illegal business.

His distraught mother on her part said that, after the death of her husband some years ago, she left the deceased’s compound at Onuofia Umudomi for Afor Enagu area of the community, where she engaged in a petty business. But she pointed out that, prior to the incident, she had decided to come back to her compound.

Unfortunately, during the process of returning her belongings, Sunday and his siblings allegedly were hypnotized by Mrs. Ugbana and her cohort, who whisked the victims away before she could go back to her former abode.

“When Chiemerie was recovered and brought back to our home through the help of Abia State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development and some of my brothers-in-law, the small boy also said that the abductors were contacted by Mrs. Ijeoma Ugbana who provided the people with wrong information by telling them that the children belonged to a lunatic who had been roaming the town aimlessly without caring for her offspring.

“According to my son, it was Mrs. Ugbana that persuaded the people to go with three of them,” she claimed.

The woman then appealed for assistance from all quarters so that her other missing children would be recovered.

Vice-chairman of Onuofia village, Chukwu Obaji, told Daily Sun that the case was reported to the police at Isu, the council headquarters, and, based on the action, the prime suspect, Mrs. Ijeoma Ugbana, was arrested.

According to him, while the people were contemplating what to do, luckily, he heard an announcement on Broadcasting Corporation of Abia State, BCA Radio, concerning a child who was picked by a Good Samaritan and handed over to government.

Having listened keenly and found out that the information was about the abducted Chiemerie, he contacted the radio station and later travelled to the media house in Umuahia, where the boy was officially handed over to him by the officials of the ministry.

It was gathered that the Abia State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development handed Chiemerie to his mother and uncle, Chukwu Obasi, on July 30, 2021.

The handover note, dated July 30, 2021, with reference number MOWASD/CDD/Vol 1/80, was signed by Mrs. Joy Onyebuchi, on behalf of the director, Child Development Department.

The document, which was counter-signed by Obaji and Mrs. Oti, stated: “Today being 30th July, 2021, we hand over the above named child to his biological mother, Mrs. Ngozi Oti, and paternal uncle, Mr. Chukwu Obaji, of Onuofia village in Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

“Both of them will take complete custody of Master Okorie Chiemerie”.

Obaji further told Daily Sun that, upon his interaction with the recovered child, he learnt that the abductors connived with Mrs. Ijeoma Ugbana whom before the incident had allegedly introduced the said ‘fat abductor’ as his (Chiemerie’s) maternal uncle.

He added that the boy equally revealed that he and his missing siblings were provided with a local snack called Okpa and new pairs of bathroom slippers by the accused persons before they were taken away.

The community leader also disclosed that, after the statement of some persons, including that of the victim, were recorded at the police divisional headquarters, Isu, the prime suspect, Mrs. Ijeoma Ugbana, was transferred to the state command headquarters in Abakaliki.